some things my people are loving right now

I thought I'd share some of the things people in my house are loving right now.

Graham:

He loves his Bronco, and he especially loves it even more now that it's louder.  I drove it on Saturday and man alive, when you hit the gas pedal, you can feel it in your bones.  (I like it too.)

He loves watching series of shows on Netflix.  His top picks would probably be Friends, The Office and How I Met Your Mother.

He also LOVES soccer.  Last week he scored three of the goals his team made.

Drew:

Drew is loving being an independent driver.  He honestly forgets that he can drive now, and all of a sudden, he'll remember and offer to go do something for me.

He loves watching Arrow every single Wednesday night after church.  He and Graham will disappear upstairs when they get home from Chick Fil A (also after church) and I can hear them down the hall yelling at the television.

He is loving his friends right now.  There is a really great group of teenagers that he and Graham hang out with and they have so much fun together.  They make plans throughout the week to eat together, or to go hammock or just out for yogurt.  I love this!

Jonah:

This one still loves any show on television that has anything to do with law enforcement.  He is borderline obsessed, actually, and always has been.

He loves staying downstairs late every night with Todd.  We will go to bed, or upstairs, and Jonah will stay down here with Todd until who knows when.

Jonah loves Callie.  He loves Crash, too, but he is really enamored with Callie and takes really good care of her.  (He is my hardest working boy.)

Noah:

Noah loves having a phone and being social.  He is always texting his friends and I love their sweet friendships.

He loves working out.  He has been working out with our neighbor twice a week for about a month now, but when he's not over at their garage, he is doing some exercises on his own that Troy gave him to do at home.

He is also on a healthy eating kick and he is my accountability partner for that.  He and I often eat the same things at home, or when we're out.  He is eating healthier because certain foods really hurt his stomach and we have learned that when he eats healthy, he doesn't have those problems.  (It was too much junk food.)

Toddley:

Todd is loving learning about a new smart watch he found.  He's thinking about buying it for himself and is still currently researching what people are saying about it.

He looks forward to watching a couple of shows every week: Deadliest Catch and The Voice.  We talked about The Voice last night and we have some favorites already.  I don't usually watch it with him because I go to bed so much earlier, but will watch the next day or two.

He loves his new cups that his mom bought for him.  They look just like the Yeti cups, but they're a different brand.  He has been filling them up with ice and water and will drink from it all day.  (I'm proud of him for this one, he is not a fan of water!)

Me:

I've been reading from James the past few days.  I love this New Testament book!  Such practical advice and such admonition come from it, and the words pierce your heart.  Also, I love my May scripture writing plan.  That's what this picture is below.  Yesterday I wrote from Jeremiah 29.

One song that I love right now is The Song of Moses.  Here is the YouTube video.



Watch it!  It's so good.  And it inspired me to read from Exodus this morning.  I was trying to find this passage that the lyrics come from.

One last thing is something that's kinda a new tradition for me and the boys, and that is that when we go to Costco, my mom comes with us.  Now that she is retired, I get to see her more than I did before.  I know that's not a big deal, but to me it is.  I love the everyday little things that make up life.  Those are the moments that matter most to me.

Well, have a great day!  My coffee just ran out, so I have to go get another cup.  And I need to do some laundry and then eventually I will go walk in the gym at church.  And tonight we have plans with some sweet friends!  A double date, actually, and I cannot wait.  I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.

Love to all!

weekend update, Prom edition

Please forgive me for the length and for the amount of pictures you are about to see.  I couldn't choose just a couple.  I know, some people can, but I'm not that kind of person.  

On Friday night, Jonah, Noah, a couple of their friends and me loaded up in the car and went and got pizza and headed to a new park out here in The Ville called Hinton Park.  

Noah's face cracks me up.  This park is gorgeous!  I don't think it's done being built yet, but they were fine with it how it was.  We ate our pizza and took off to these climbing things.

They kept on posing and asking me to take their pictures.  Crazy boys!  This night was beautiful and I couldn't believe more people weren't there.  While they continued their antics, I went and looked around a little myself.

There's a beautiful pond with a sidewalk around the whole thing.  I foresee lots of time here in the future.  It's a great place to walk!

We came home after this and all the boys hung out upstairs.  I watched a movie, and Graham and Drew made it home by eleven something.  They had worked a movie in the park night with our friend and a guy he knows who does technical things.  

On Saturday morning, I had three blessed hours alone while everyone slept and I had quiet time, I read, I watched a movie and I gave myself a pedicure and manicure.  Then the day exploded and we all left, going in different directions.  I had a million things to do before prom that night.  

Finally, though, the hour arrived, and Graham left to pick up his friends and I left shortly after to meet them at the place we had decided to let them take pictures.  I did have a come apart for a few minutes, while I was by myself.  There is something that happens when you see your oldest son in a tuxedo about to leave for prom.  

Tears.

But LOOK AT THEM!

They're all so handsome.  Left to right: Tom, Graham, Andrew.  They took Nicole, Abigail and Kathryn.  

Here are a few pictures.

Graham and Abigail have been friends since BEFORE kindergarten.  Nowadays, they're pretty much best friends and I was so excited that Abigail asked him to her prom.  

Such sweetness.

And then this happened.

Oh, Drewby.  Always displaying his strength and silly side.  I love him, though.  

After all the pictures were taken, we had them go for one more pose, but really what happened is that their surprise limousine had shown up and it was time for them to go.

They were shocked!  And so excited.  I might have threatened to climb in with them.  

They ate dinner at a restaurant familiar to Memphis called Houston's, then they went to Minglewood Hall, where the prom was held.  They stayed until about midnight, then their carriage turned back into a pumpkin (the limo was exchanged for my suburban) and they were home by around one.  The guys ended up coming here to spend the night and the girls went home, because nobody wanted to miss church the next morning.

I think Graham bought some people Rockstars to help them through.  

I am so proud of all these people!  I commend their decision to not miss church and to hold themselves to a higher standard.  They had a great night.

Meanwhile, when we all got back home, these two had their first official date where Drew drove Emma.

My boys are growing into fine young men.  I could not be more proud of them and their integrity.  It's all by the grace of God that they have turned into these fine human beings.

It was a great weekend.  I hope yours was too! 

Love to all.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!  This has been a great week around these parts, and has gone by really fast.  I know the weekend will be the same, because it is JAM PACKED.  And time?  Can you slow down again?

I'm linking up with Momfessionals for this post.

I have had a lot of favorite moments from this week, and I even have a new favorite PRODUCT!  I usually don't talk about things, but moments.  Here are some of those, in no particular order.

One.

On Mother's Day, we celebrated these two beautiful moms after church.  On the left is my mom, and on the right is my mom-in-love (law).  We met at the McAllister's out here in The Ville after church and had a really good lunch together.  I love this day when we celebrate moms.  My husband and kids do a phenomenal job of making me feel very loved and appreciated.  Actually, they do that every other day too, but on THIS day, I get happy's!

However, I know this day brings sadness for some moms.  My prayers are always with those who are single moms or moms who have lost babies and also those who are spending maybe a first Mother's Day without their beloved moms.  It's a really sweet, but emotional day.

But my moms?  They're all my favorites.

Two.

This was my favorite thing that happened this week!  A picnic in the park by our neighborhood, with friends on the night of Mother's Day.  The weather was GLORIOUS and as the moms sat and visited and caught up, the dads and the kids all played football nearby.  I love my friends and I thank God for them.  And I LOVE seeing all the dads bond and have fun over a friendly game of football.

Three.

Flowers are my favorite.  However, if you have seen my house, you know that we have almost zero room in our flower beds in the front of our house.  Because of the height and raised foundation of our house, we have boxwoods in the front, and that's all that can fit in the little flower beds.  A landscaping company near my husband's work was throwing away all of these plans, and he stopped and asked if he could have them.  So he had the boys bring them all home and we are going to plan them all in planters on the front sidewalk and on our front stoop.  I love color!  You also know that about me if you've been inside of my house.

Four.

This new Fitbit Alta that my hubby and boys gave me for mom's day is my new favorite accessory.  It tracks the time, my steps, calories burned, active minutes and sleep patterns.  Every day this week (not Sunday), I have met my goal of ten thousand steps a day.  Well, at least that much.  Some days have gone over that.  I am walking a minimum of three miles everyday (mostly on the treadmill), but some days when I go to bed, this thing says that I've walked closer to five miles.

Five.

Ever since January, we've been having choir practices on Sunday afternoons.  At first I didn't much care for it, but now that we're on month five of this, I love it because it frees up my time on Wednesday nights.  My favorite thing to do on that night is to be in youth!  I love these kids so much, and I love seeing them midweek.  I get hugs, some will pull me away for quick talks, I get to worship and pray alongside them, and I think it's good to be seen by them in their worship service.  This week was precious...I took this picture as they were praying over the outgoing seniors.

The current senior girls were my first group of girls to be with, and I was with them for two years.  And for those two years, I was with the current eleventh grade girls in community group on Sunday night.  This year was the year of change for all of that, though, and I was no longer with those senior girls.  I am so thankful that we still kept up with one another, though, and I love that they still come to me for advice or prayer or just a listening ear.  I cannot believe that today is their last day of high school!

Tears.

One of the best decisions I ever made was getting involved with youth.  I am so thankful for my friend Erin that sought me out three years ago at kids camp to ask me about leading a group and I am so thankful to God for placing a love for these teenagers into the very depths of my heart.  I have laughed with them and cried with them, I have heard a lot of their stories, I have shared my story and we have had some wonderfully sweet moments of connection and fellowship.  I will forever be changed by all of them and I pray that long after they've left the youth ministry, that they remember my most important piece of advice: love God the most (and people), pray continually and READ THE WORD OF GOD.

That's what I tell them all.  Because truly, none of the other stuff matters if you do those things.

I love youth ministry.  It's my favorite thing that I have ever done inside of a church setting, and I pray that as long as God would have me there, that I would be effective for His kingdom.  I always pray and ask Him to examine my motives for doing this, and that if I ever have wrong motives, that He would remove me.  I don't ever want to be a stumbling block for any of these teenagers, and I certainly never want to be there for myself.

I'm extra sentimental today I suppose, because I've been praying about next year and what God would have me do.  I have no clear answer yet, but I do know that this love I have for these girls is not going to go away.  I love them so much, and it's an honor to be even a tiny part of their lives.

Six.

I have been reading the book of James in the bible this week.  James is one of my favorite New Testament books and I am soaking up all the words.  Today's chapter was really good.  I read James chapter three, and he talks about our tongues and how evil they are and how both blessings and curses come from the same part.  Then he talks about wisdom from above and he lists what that is.  I'll just write it out for you.  It's James 3: 16-18.

"For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace."

I think this is one of my favorite passages because he talks about peace several times.  We are to be a peace loving type of people...not quarrelsome.  We are to sow peace and cultivate peace.  That means we are to scatter peace wherever we go and then we are to acquire or develop it.  I don't know about you, but in this crazy world, that is hard!  Peace is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it's the fruit that speaks the most to me, because I crave it in my life.  Without peace is disorder and evil and God is NOT a God of disorder, but a God of peace.

See where I'm going with all this?

I just gleaned a lot from my quiet time this morning.

Well, thanks for reading my blog!  I pray that your day and weekend are both wonderful.  Love to all.

a day in the life

I love a day in the life type post...I love reading them, and I love writing them.  Since school is wrapping up for us, and since I've adopted a new kind of routine each day around here, I thought I'd share.  I can totally see this being our summer schedule or routine.  Or maybe not, but you get my drift.  (I am a routine kind of gal, in case you're forgotten that about me.)

This was Wednesday.

I woke up (after being awake from three to five again) at seven and came downstairs to let the dogs out and feed them.  As soon as I let them out and they're content eating their food, I settle at the kitchen table for my quiet time.  The time I spend here each day varies, but yesterday it was about an hour that I spent praying, reading my bible and writing out the verses in my May Scripture Writing plan.

When I finished that, I made Todd's to-go coffee and a to-go water for him, made me a cup of coffee and made another half pot of coffee for Graham and Drew.  (Yes, we all drink coffee, and no, there is not a coffee pot big enough.)

I turned on K-Love (or Air One) and brought my coffee into the living room computer desk.  I neatened up the room as I walked in, straightening the couches and their pillows, bringing any stray dishes or glasses into the kitchen and I turned on my mantle lights.  Yesterday morning, I lit the new candle a sweet girl from church gave me for mother's day.  While I'm at the computer, I check emails, get on Facebook for a few minutes (I try to spend a minimum amount of time on this) and I write a blog post and read the blogs I love the most.

After all this, I woke the boys up.  (I did say we are wrapping up school and we do homeschool, so they are able to sleep in most mornings.)

They brought down the dirty clothes, and while they got breakfast for themselves, I started a load of laundry.  I have found a groove in laundry, and that is that if I do one COMPLETE load every single day, I will never get behind.  This means that I wash the clothes, dry them, fold them and put them all away.  This leaves my washing machine and drier empty for the next day.

After starting the laundry yesterday, I cleaned up and started the dishwasher in the kitchen, and then I moved on to dusting.  Jonah started vacuuming the house, along with Graham and Noah, and I dusted while they did that.  I put the clothes into the drier and made a gallon of tea and wiped off all the kitchen counters.  Sometime soon after this, the dishes were done and I dried them off and put them away.  The boys usually help with that.

I made myself lunch (the boys weren't hungry yet)~yesterday was a couple spoonfuls of tuna (made healthy style) on top of a big bed of lettuce.  I had yogurt for dessert and I let the dogs lick the container from which I ate.  (It's their favorite thing ever and it is adorable to watch.  Just don't tell Todd.)

After lunch, the drier was done, so I took all the clothes upstairs and made my bed.  I folded the load, the boys each got their own piles and put them away and I got dressed in workout clothes.  I was at the gym at church by twelve thirty, and my friend Lori met me there.  (Walking is more fun with friends!)

I walked three miles on the treadmill and then we left the gym together.  That put me back home by about one forty five and I got more water to drink and grabbed a snack and sat down to rest for a while.

That was me yesterday.  My snack was a serving of Terra Exotic Vegetable chips and a KIND bar.  Well, and a bite of Graham's leftover taquito he made for lunch.

I read for the afternoon, while the boys were upstairs.  Graham was finishing up Algebra 2 and Jonah and Noah were playing on the X-Box or on their phones.  Graham and Jonah left for church at four fifteen to do the sound and lyrics for the youth that night and Noah and I stayed here.  We ate an early dinner~he had leftover Beer Cheddar Joe's from Monday night and I had a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup in broth.  (Don't be impressed~it was Progresso.)  We left for church at five fifteen.

I signed kids in for Children's Worship Choir until six thirty and then I went to youth.

This was them praying for the seniors.  Tears.  I did take this picture and then I prayed for them myself.  I stayed in the back, though.  I love that in having choir practice on Sunday, it frees me up for youth on Wednesday nights.  I love seeing these amazing teenagers each week, midweek.

Right after church, at 7:40, I had to run Abbey to get her car from a nearby dealership and then I went back to church to pick up Jonah and Noah.  Graham and Drew went to Chick Fil A with friends.

We came home and got snacks (I HATE eating dinner so early, because I get hungry again!) and played with the new Roomba Todd bought for us!  I am so excited about this little thing...it's amazing!  I also hate Callie's hair.  This is her major shedding season, which apparently happens twice a year.  Spring and Fall, maybe?

By nine, I'd had all I could take (not really, I just like to go to bed early) and headed upstairs.  I washed my face and put on my pj's and read for a little while, then I watched an episode of Army Wives on Netflix.  Two episodes, actually, then I fell asleep.

And that was Wednesday.  They're always kinda crazy because of church on this night, but I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.  ;)

Love to all!

a Wednesday version of random things

Accountability keeps me going in my life, and I am so happy that yesterday completed my seventh week day in a row (I skipped Saturday and Sunday) of walking three miles a day.

I'm very thankful that God placed on my heart the desire to start down this path...in the past, I selfishly wanted to exercise and get healthy, but for the wrong motives.  I changed my prayers and started asking Him to be honored in my body and my mind as the temple of His Holy Spirit and before long, I started wanting to do this.  If you get tired of things like the above image, I'm sorry.  But the accountability helps me and since I'm often alone in walking, I feel the need to share with someone.

In honor of it being almost sweet summertime, I am wanting to shed the heavy books I've been reading and exchange them for more lighthearted ones.  I picked this one up on Monday and started it again.  Yes, again~these are one of my favorite series of books and I occasionally love to revisit them.  I never grow tired of these.

The ones I own are all the old covers, but they've since been updated.  Yes, I feel old when I write that.  I have said forever that I'm like an old woman in a younger woman's body.

I have read and reread my favorite books ever since I was a teenager in school.  I have always been a bookworm and I preferred reading to physical sport or even being with people (some of the time).  It was kinda like what Netflix is today to teenagers.

This is one series of lighthearted books that I love to read in the summer, but here are some more of what's in my cart on Amazon.

This first one is by one of my favorite bloggers and writers ever, Sophie Hudson.  I've read her blog, Boo Mama, for years and years, and I've read the other books she has written as well.  They always make me laugh out loud.

Another favorite blogger of mine is Melanie Shankle, also known as Big Mama.  I've also read her other books that she has written, with the exception of this one.  I just added it to my Amazon cart this morning.  Note that Giddy Up, Eunice is only for sale as a pre-order on Amazon right now.  I think it debuts in early June.  Melanie is currently working on a book to be released in the fall of 2017.

I am looking forward to the long, lazy days of summer.  I cannot wait to start swimming with my mom-in-love and my friends, and I cannot wait for all of our fun summer activities.  I also look forward to seeing my sister who is coming home this month and our old neighbors and dear friends, the Dickson's.

Lots to look forward to and to be excited for!  I love this time of year.  I just don't want to talk about next year and how Graham will be a senior.  Speaking of him, also coming up this weekend is PROM!  I am so thankful he is getting to go with a dear friend of his and can't wait to see him all decked out in his tux.

Pictures will be aplenty, I promise.

Thanks for reading my blog!  Love to all.

encouragement...and a challenge?

I have to make this short, because I have to be somewhere at nine, but I wanted to share with you a way that I have started praying everyday.  I was inspired by my friend Abbey to start praying this way, and it seems like now that I've started doing this, God keeps on presenting me with little opportunities to share with people.

I started praying that God would use me wherever I go, and that He would give me boldness in sharing my faith with others, and in His gospel.  And it seems like God keeps putting people in my life to do this.

One was last week, at a doctor's appointment, of all things.  The x-ray technician was the sweetest lady ever, and I'd specifically asked Him to give me someone like that on this morning, because I was nervous.  I met the lady and took a liking to her right away, and I ended up sharing with her that I am a believer of the Lord Jesus and that He carries me through all circumstances.  We had a sweet time of sharing with each other, as she did all the things she had to have me do for that appointment, and it was never once awkward or strange.  She even hugged me at the end of it.

Another opportunity He gave me was last week at our church's gym.  I had planned on walking on the treadmill, but they were all being used, so I just walked around the gym.  Another lady came in and was doing exercise in the gym while I walked around, and before long, a friend joined her.  Noah was with me on this day and shot basketball hoops while I walked.  Eventually a treadmill freed up and I spent the last thirty minutes walking on that.  When I was done, I went to grab Noah for us to leave, and this lady and I started talking.  Turns out she was on a mission to exercise everyday as well, and also she did this to strengthen herself for her to be able to raise her grandkids, along with her husband.

She met her friend most days, but that friend was moving at the end of the month, and they'd been praying that she would find a friend to be accountable to.  And then we met.  We ended up exchanging phone numbers, and promised to make time to meet.  She texted me yesterday afternoon and asked me to be there at nine to join her, and of COURSE I am meeting her there.

But how cool that they'd been praying for her to meet someone, and then we met?  And really, it was all through Noah.  He played basketball with her the whole time I walked and taught her how to shoot from in front of the goal.  This just goes to show that God is in all the little tiny details, and He hears every single prayer we utter.  And when we pray for His will to be done, He always answers us.

His will is for us to share with one another and to take on each other's burdens.  I am so thankful for all this on this bright and beautiful Tuesday morning, and I love meeting new friends.

I want to encourage you to try to pray this way and see what God does.  It's been pretty amazing to see how He works in all circumstances.  And please know that I don't intend this post to be braggy~because there is nothing good in me, but the Holy Spirit abides in me, and HE IS GOOD.  I always also pray that God would increase and that I would decrease.  All glory and honor belong only to HIM.

And because I need pictures on my blog, look what my husband found yesterday!

Someone near his warehouse was throwing these away and he had the boys bring them all home for us to plant.  Aren't they beautiful?  They look amazing now that they've had some rainwater soak into them overnight.  I do love planted flowers.

I'm off!  I'm meet Shandra at nine and I have a couple things to do before I leave.  (If you would like to pray for me, I could use them....one, that God would continually give me the desire to walk at least three miles five days a week, and two, that I'd be able to continue to eat healthy.)  (Not counting the Mexican I had last night with my friend Andrea, but today is a new day.)

Love to all.

weekend recap, Mom's Day edition

I got a text from my husband Friday afternoon at three thirty, informing me that he was starving, and I remembered that I had nothing planned for dinner that night.  (Oops....but, not really.)  Graham and Drew made plans with some of their guy friends to go see the new Marvel movie, Civil War, and that left the five of us.  (Todd, Jonah, Noah, Alex and me.)  I suggested that we go to Costco, because I knew we needed to get a few items, and we could just get dinner there.

Fancy.

In a whole week of eating as cleanly as possible (fruits, veggies, nuts, chicken, fish, KIND bars and water), let me tell you that the six hundred and something calorie piece of pepperoni pizza that I had that night tasted absolutely DIVINE.  I didn't even feel guilty.

When we got home, we found boys in our driveway playing basketball, and soon, it looked like this.

Graham and Drew and their friends had gone to Taco Bell for dinner, and came here to hang out until their movie started at nine forty-five.  Our driveway always used to look like this, and then, the neighborhood kids started growing up or moving away, and now mine are all growing up, and well...it's just been a long time since I've had a yard full of boys playing around.  I loved seeing this and I didn't feel bad taking this picture on the sly.  There was one boy who nobody knew, but when I went out to talk to them, I invited him to join them, and he did.

I started my new book that I'd gotten in the mail that day and read until I went to bed, then I watched a couple shows on Netflix and fell asleep.

Callie woke me up crying at six Saturday morning, and having tossed and turned the night before and being awake from three to five a.m., I was guzzling coffee and fighting to stay away.  I skipped my quiet time because my eyelids didn't want to stay open.

When I was more awake, I picked up my book and started reading again.

The book is Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.  I've never read anything by her before, and the only reason I read this one was because it's coming out in the movie theater next month.  I love to read the book before seeing the movie, if that's ever an option, and the movie looks great, so I bought it on Amazon.  I won't spoil this for you, because I know some of you want to read this, but I discovered a couple of things about myself.

One, is that this book is not by a Christian author.  I broke my own rule and read it anyway.  And even though it was clean, the language was not, and I don't like reading books with those words.  It's what I get for breaking my own rule.  I knew better.  I know some of you don't go by this rule, so this won't be an issue for you.  In my personal life, though, I've seen that what I put into my mind is what comes out.  I tell my kids that all the time and therefore, I try to live by that standard.

Two is that the ending sucked.  And I HATE BOOKS that end in a way that and spend all that time getting into it and then.....well, you get my drift.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

I put the book down and got dressed, because I had a date with my mom and sister.  I had an errand I needed to run, and it's always more fun when you're with the ones you love.

I promise you that my hair is not hot pink, as it looks in this picture.  Mom is on the left, Trish is on the right.  We had lunch at Firebirds and then ran to a couple of places.

I bought some new lipstick, and that is always fun.  I love Clinique's lipstick and glosses.

That afternoon Todd went into work and the boys and I went to my mom's for dinner.  After dinner, it felt heavenly outside and my step dad Bill and the boys and I sat outside on their backporch.  We left there at eight, and Jonah's and Noah's friend came over to spend the night, then Graham and Drew went to another movie.  (It's their money.)  This time, they went to the late showing of The Jungle Book.

I fell asleep before they got home.  Toddley didn't come home until four thirty a.m. and because of that, stayed home to sleep instead of attending church.  Afterward we all met at McAllister's to celebrate my mom and my mom-in-love.

It was a wonderful day.  I asked for a couple of things for Mother's day, and my sweet family delivered.  One is the new FitBit Alta.  If I'm going to keep on walking everyday, I need this.  I have an amount of steps to reach every day and it keeps track of that, the miles I walk and my sleep.  I love it, and it's purple, which has been my favorite color for a long time.

The other thing I asked for was a picnic at the park with my family and some friends.  Graham grilled chicken for us and I roasted some potatoes and cut up some fruit and we took it all with us.  My friends all grabbed their own dinners and we stayed and talked while the boys all played football, until a little after eight.  It was glorious and so much fun.

This was most of us.  Toddley took the picture and Missy brought her sweet lab, Doppler.

I felt honored and treasured and highly favored all day long, all thanks to my sweet hubby and kids.  I thank God for all of them, and for the pleasure I have of being their wife and mom.  To God be the glory and praise.  I think of the verse that says that all things are to Him, through Him and from Him, and I know He has given us all one blessing after another.

I hope your weekend was wonderful.  I'm off to start laundry!  Love to all.